Bone Graft: When Would You Need One?

Posted December 3, 2015.

Healthy, strong bone is essential for supporting your natural teeth and is required for successful dental implant surgery. But unfortunately bone can be destroyed by advanced gum disease. The loss of bone can destabilize existing teeth and makes it impossible to place standard sized tooth implant. Sometimes bone in certain areas of your mouth, for example around the sinuses, may be thinner than in other areas and will need increasing before you can have implants to replace your back teeth.

Bone Graft Due to Periodontal Disease

Advanced periodontal disease can lead to the tooth roots becoming exposed which not only looks unsightly but can increase the risk of tooth decay in the roots. Luckily there are advanced procedures that can help to regenerate lost bone as well as the gum tissue that would have previously covered up the tooth roots.

The technique used to regenerate bone in these areas is very specialized so it’s best to seek treatment from a periodontist, for example D & D Periodontal Associates as you can be assured you will get the best quality treatment. The material used for dental bone graft is artificial and is designed to help encourage the production of new bone cells. At the same time, it’s likely your periodontist, Midtown NYC will want to encourage the growth of gum tissue and this procedure has to be very carefully planned to ensure the correct amounts of new tissue are produced. This is done using special membranes to separate the regeneration medium for bone and for gum tissue. Eventually the membrane is absorbed by the body as the regeneration process continues. This type of treatment can be highly successful in helping to treat tooth roots that have become significantly exposed, stabilizing them and helping to prevent any further damage.

Bone Grafting in Preparation for Tooth Implant

There are several different types of dental bone graft procedures that can be used in preparation for tooth implant surgery, depending on the position of the implants and the area in which the bone is deficient. Sometimes dental bone graft can be very straightforward and the grafting material can be placed at the same time as the tooth implant or when the tooth is originally extracted. Other times the procedure can be more complex where perhaps the bony ridge used to support teeth needs to be widened. This type of procedure is called a ridge augmentation and can be very successful in increasing the width of the ridge.

Sinus Lift Surgery

Yet another procedure is called a sinus lift or sinus augmentation and this is used to build up the height of the bone in the area around the sinuses. You might need this treatment if you intend to have dental implants to replace your upper back teeth and to do this the membrane in between your sinus cavities and your jawbone is lifted out of the way, creating sufficient space for bone grafting material to be inserted.

If you do need a dental bone graft, there’s nothing to be worried about as this procedure is quite common and is very straightforward.